Do you let your outboard warm up?

[Rowroy]

I'm brand new to boating, but not to the internal combustion engine. I always let my car, truck, bike, whatever, warm up before pushing it too hard, but I see a lot of boaters running their rigs wide open as soon as they hit the water. The engineer in me says that can't be good.

Do you folks let your motors warm up before "nailing it"?

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I always have a few yards of "no wake zone" so there is a good minute or two of low RPM use. I dont worry after that.

My motorcycle I always fire it up, put on my gear and hop on and ride off.

my truck I fire it up, buckle up and drive off. easy on it till I see the temp gauge needle start to move.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

With some of these older outboards and even some of these newer outboards you may not have a choice but to let them warm up especially in the winter time, if you try to take off with them just after you start the motor sometimes they will go dead. Some motors are cold natured, some of it is just the nature of the motor.

I really don't know how it might hurt the motor if you just take right off with it and not let it warm up. I let mine warm up for a minute or so if not longer, especially if I just started it up for the first time in a while after launching.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

An outboard runs much cooler than a car or truck so they get to operating temperature (150 degrees - give or take a little) quite quickly. There is an issue when you hammer down when cold if you have removed the thermostat because of some poor reasoning. Pistons expand much quicker than the block so without a thermostat, cold-seizing can occur.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

i start mine, and let it warm up, while the others board.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

Even with a thermostat, cold seize can occur if you start it and hammer down right away.

Good news is that there is so much fire is such a small engine that full warmup is generally 30 seconds or so at idle.

hope it helps
John

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

i start mine, and let it warm up, while the others board.

I do the exact same.

 

[fdmsiv]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I thought the warm up time was to give the engine a chance to get the oil heated and flowing. I know there is an oil pump but give your car 30 seconds of idle to let the oil get into every nook and cranny.

With a 2 stroke the oil is with the fuel and is delivered to the engine instantly, but I feel like the 5 mins or so I let it run it will tell me how it is going to behave on the water.

I also find that with the engine running people are more focused on getting everything in the boat and ready to go.

 

[pecheux]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I do the exact same.

Same here ... and I keep under half trottle for a few minutes leaving the dock. I like to know there is oil all over the internal parts prior to normal wot operation ...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

when i get in the boat, i start it, let it idle, do a final check that everything is where it should be, hand life jackets to the small ones, so they can put them on, before i allow anyone to board. motor has plenty of time to warm.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I let it idle at the ramp for a minute. Plus there's a big no wake zone that takes 5 minutes to get through so it gets plenty of warm up before opening it up.

KWB

 

[gbb]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I always start mine at home and let it run a little bit, like to make sure it starts and runs fine before heading to the ramp, which is only 10 mins. away.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

mine warms up going to the no wake buoy. I will usually start it and let it idle while the wife is getting in then idle out to the no wake buoy.

 

[rndn]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I always start mine at home and let it run a little bit, like to make sure it starts and runs fine before heading to the ramp, which is only 10 mins. away.

You actually attach the muffs and hose and let it run each time you use your boat?

I always start it up right away at the launch and then it always take a few minutes to get things situated prior to heading out into the lake.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I get in my little boat and fire up the 6hp Johnson and set it to a fast idle once it settles down (very quickly). Then, I cast off the bow line and the stern line and look to make sure I loaded everything. By then, it's running smoothly, and will idle down to a normal idle with the choke off. Hit reverse and back away from the courtesy dock.

 

[gss036]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

My Honda owners manual(225hp) says warm it up in cold weather. But I start and let it run for a minute or so then fast idle out of the no wake zone for about 1/8 mile. I was surprised that Honda does not install a temperature guage on the engine, I asked for one and was told they were not an option.

 

[Woodnaut]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

The owners manual on my Yam F90 recommends 5 minutes of warmup time before throttling up - which isn't too difficult to follow. The rule was probably written, however, to cover nearly all conditions - including cold weather.

I have a friend who ran into some serious trouble with one of his engines. The dealer told him that he had scuffed some cylinders due to a high loading condition on a cold engine. He argued that there was a sizeable "no wake zone" at his marina so he couldn't possibly have done what they were suggesting. Nevertheless, I could imagine that if you were out swinging on the hook for several of hours of fishing on a cold day then a powerhead could possibly cool down all the way. Then you suddenly yank up and the anchor and go WOT to get home because you're cold.......and then you might have a problem.

I don't mind fish guts, anchor bangs and maybe even a scrape or two on the old boat, but I spent way too much money on my engine for it to develop a problem that I could have easily avoided. So, I give it the full five minutes of warm up at idle - some of which is in gear and headed out. And like GBB, I run it on the muffs before I ever leave the house - not to warm it up, but just to make sure I'm ready to rock and roll when I get to the ramp.

 

[chrisg]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

If I dont let it warm up, it dies when I hit the thottle. ( it still hesitate the first time I open it up no matter how long I let it warm up, it always did that, not sure why - Merc I/O 3.0L!

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

I don't idle for prolonged periods just to avoid unncessary fouling of the plugs. I usually start the motor just before cast off, back out of the launch ramp, and run out of the no wake zone at a bit above idle. Once I clear the no wake zone, I push the throttle up to a point where the boat is moving at about 6 - 8 mph and run it that way for a few minutes. From there, I will throttle up to 4,200 - 4,600 rpm, which is my cruise throttle range.

I don't run my motor at WOT much, just because I am rarely in that much of a hurry, and don't feel like burning up a bunch of fuel just to go a few more mph.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Do you let your outboard warm up?

Most of the time, no, not for a long time. I fish on a river that's 52 degrees all year and normally don't use the outboard leaving the marina, on the trolling motor and fishing soon as I hit the water. I do start the outboard at the dock to make sure it works, but it's hours and miles down river before I run the outboard. Then I'll start the outboard, stow the trolling motor and gear (30 seconds to 1 minute) and make my run up river. There are times when I'll run the outboard every 2 hours, but in that cold water the engine has gone cold again, same procedure.

Start the outboard cold and immediately go WOT, never done that.